After my last guitar build I realized that I would need to make more jigs. Since I have rough cut a few necks I decided to start making neck jigs. The first of these is a jig for routing the joint where the neck meets the guitar body. Usually with a dovetail or bolt on configuration.

I used a single piece of MDF (2’x4′) to make this whole jig (and still had some left over.) However if I had to do this over again I would have used plywood. The MDF tends to not hold up when you take thickness out of it as I have done here. So I will likely be making another one of these in the future.

Previously I had purchased some neck routing templates and made this jig to accommodate those templates. They just slide into the slot I made and bolt in place for routing. I have not yet tried this jig because I need to find the right bolts to use, but I have high hopes that it will work fine.

If you want more specifics on how I built this just comment and I can help you out.

As a side note: I’ve realized a better way to cut guitar necks and am at a stand still with the current six necks I cut. While I’m hoping I can salvage the six I cut, I am also not kidding myself that they may all end up scrap. Bummer.

A friend of mine had an old Ibanez Gio with the fretboard lifting off the neck. Rather than remove the whole fretboard I just lifted it and cleaned it out the best I could. Next, I used hide glue to reattach the fretboard and clamped it for 24 hours. Below are the before and after photos.

I still need to clean it up and I spoke with him about getting a new nut on there (as you can see he put a hurting on the thing!) I am going to go ahead and do that. Hope this helps someone.

While in the shop today I began to prep this guitar for repair. I was just about to tape off the bridge area when I noticed a crack in the soundboard.

My shop is still not put together and I could not find my mirror to see the extent of the damage on the inside. By the looks of it the crack is all the way through the soundboard, which would explain why the bridge fell off (also probably due to a terrible job of putting it on in the first place.) Until I am able to find the mirror I’m putting this repair on hold (due to it’s value possibly indefinitely.) This is a guitar I acquired from a friend and no one is waiting on it so I’m not in a big rush.

On the plus side, I found some of the violin parts I had been working on before the move. I can’t seem to find some of the hardware I bought for it but I found the violin itself and the new fingerboard. I would like to finish this project but I need to find those parts first.

Even the best of intentions can be side-lined by family and holidays. That is the case for me in making progress on this guitar repair. I was not going to post this since I don’t really have anything to show other than the guitar that needs repaired. However, since most people are on vacation and might need a quick read after feasting I decided to go ahead and put something up. Also, I keep testing this ‘aside’ format in WordPress hoping I will figure out how it’s different from ‘normal.’

Shown below is a picture of the guitar in need of repair. This should be a simple procedure of reattaching the bridge. It is an acoustic electric so I’ll need to be careful of all those internal parts.

I know a few fellow luthiers read this blog and if you have any suggestions on the electronics side of this repair, please feel free to comment here or on my facebook page. Thanks and have a good Thanksgiving!

I’ve started to get some semblance of a shop at my new location! I am writing this in anticipation of soon being able to continue work on the violin I was restoring. Further, I have picked up an acoustic guitar repair. It appears to be just a bridge replacement but I’ll have to look a bit closer at it when the time comes.

I wish I had photos and more to say but It’s been a while since I wrote and I wanted you all to know I still have full intentions of continuing this blog.

Bonus: ALocation Unknown

This is mostly a luthier blog but I also do other woodworking and construction too! If there is interest in these other projects I may post them! Here is a hunting cabin I lent a small hand building. Enjoy!

Hey all! I’ve been quiet lately due to selling my house and shop. I’ve been shut down for a while and am still looking for that perfect place. Once that happens you can count on me building instruments and posting about it. Enjoy your new year!

Like this:

For the past few months I have been chipping at making pieces and parts for the next guitar. I really could not find an interesting way to talk about each part so I just didn’t bother.

Since I haven’t posted in over a month, I thought a handful of you would want to know that this blog is still going. Although I have quite a few other obligations at the moment, I will be posting more frequently in the coming weeks/months.

I’m looking forward to this next build. (It already has a musical recording project waiting for it!) The more tools I accumulate, the more of this process I can do on my own! It’s pretty exciting! Hopefully I can keep it interesting for you.

I had some scrap maple pieces laying around and I decided to test out the home-made bending iron I made last week. These pieces were small, but I realized they were big enough for uke sides. I had a uke that I built quite a while back and I used it as a guide. It seemed to go pretty well but I’m not sure I’m getting enough heat. Which leads me to my question:

In the pictures below you will see my bent sides for the uke. The bend above the waist seemed like it wouldn’t bend anymore without cracking. Why is that? Is it due to lack of heat? Lack of moisture? I’m not rushing the bend so I don’t think its an exposure issue.

Since finishing up the Appalachian Dulcimer I have been working toward the next build. I ordered some wood this week for the sides and back of the next classical guitar build. Curly Maple is what I settled on, mostly due to cost. I want to keep my costs down and do as much of the work as I can. The wood has not arrived yet but I anticipate it to be here by Friday.

With that said:
Because I ordered unbent sides I needed a way to do that, so I built a home-made bending iron. In case you want to build your own I have included a list of parts.

I have not tried it yet so I don’t know if it will work. If you are going to build one, wait and see how it goes for me first! Here are some pictures of my iron. If you have any words of wisdom please comment below.